“On the website it says to use a minimum of three sources and a minimum is usually a C so to get an A….”

I pressed my lips together and closed my eyes inhaling deeply through my nose. The student stopped mid sentence aware that he had somehow irked me. The opposite of his intention. I rubbed my hands together in a Mr. Miyagi style and then placed them on his shoulders and uttered the magic word. Goooooooozfraba.

It’s a silly thing I say when I want to diffuse something in my class. Too loud? Gooooooozfraba. Too anxious? Gooooooooozfraba. Too serious or sad? Gooooooooozfraba. Find any student who has ever been in my class and say this magic word to them and watch the light of recognition on their face.

Now in full disclosure I did not make up this word. It’s something that Jack Nicholson’s character says in the movie Anger Management. It’s a silly fake word but it stuck with me, and it works.

Let’s focus on all the learning you’d like to do about the Ancient Greek city states. If you’re driven by the desire to know the grades will follow.

He smiled and walked away both relieved and annoyed. It was not the answer he was looking for, but it was the one he needed.

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